In 2017, Grove Presbyterian Church celebrates its 162nd anniversary. The Church’s roots, however, are much older and deeper, coinciding with the birth of Danville and of our Nation.

In the Beginning

In the 1770’s, when the area was predominately occupied by Native Americans, a small intrepid group of settlers, mostly of Scotch-Irish Presbyterian background, acquired land here. Most prominent among these was General William Montgomery, a Revolutionary War hero who had purchased 600 acres, now a large component of the Borough of Danville but known then as the Mahoning Settlement. In 1775 a plot of about four acres was purchased by four settlers designated as trustees in order to provide sites for a Presbyterian school, church and burial ground, land that is occupied today by the Grove Church campus and Memorial Park (formerly the Presbyterian Cemetery). Illustrative of these early times, one of the trustees, Robert Curry, was killed and scalped and his wife taken captive a few miles from the settlement by a Native American war party.

A log schoolhouse was first erected on the site and then, around 1790, a log building for the Mahoning English Presbyterian Church, which had been formally organized in 1785. The congregation had worshiped in General Montgomery’s home and barn until the church was completed, at which time Reverend John Boyd Patterson became their first permanent Pastor.

Growth of the congregation and the community, now named Danville, led in 1826 to the replacement on the same site of the Log Church by a rather plain and evidently insubstantial building known simply as the Brick Church. Situated in a grove of stately oaks, its features included a tall pulpit, high-backed pews, and a manually operated pipe organ.

By the 1850’s, membership had increased, the church building had deteriorated and, perhaps more important, the homes and activities of the majority of the congregation now centered in the area between the canal and the Susquehanna River, leaving the Brick Church in a backwater. Consequently, the present Mahoning Presbyterian Church was built and completed in 1854, and the congregation moved there.

A significant number of the members, however, happily recalled worshiping in their old, if dilapidated, church in the grove. In 1855, an amicable division was formally agreed to, and permission was granted by the Presbytery on October 2, to form a new Congregation called the Mahoning English Presbyterian Church North. A few years later, the name was changed to the Grove Presbyterian Church.

The First Century

Members of the newly-formed Church, numbering about one hundred, promptly set to work renovating their Brick Church in the grove, worshiping in local halls until the job was completed in 1856. Reverend Charles Jewett Collins was their first Pastor. In 1858 they built a two-story brick Manse in Victorian style to house the Pastor and his family.

It was clear, however, that a new church building was needed; hence the old brick edifice was torn down around 1871. Some of its materials were incorporated over the next four years in construction of the present Gothic church. The Chapel was completed first, and the congregation worshiped there until the Sanctuary and its magnificent steeple were finished.

Finally, on October 24, 1875, the new church was dedicated with much ceremony.

During the remainder of its first century, the Grove Church continued to grow in membership, educational activities and facilities. Fourteen Pastors succeeded Reverend Collins, their terms ranging from three to eleven years. At the turn of the century, the Chapel was remodeled and an addition built on its south side to house the Church School, a social hall and a kitchen. Originally installed in the balcony, the pipe organ was moved to the front of the Sanctuary. Electric lights and central heating displaced gas lamps and coal-burning stoves. Faced with the gradual loss of the original oak grove, members planted the maples which now shade the grounds. In 1926 the stained glass windows in the Sanctuary today were installed, replacing darker ones, possibly from the old Brick Church (examples of these are still visible in the west wall of the Chapel).

In 1955, the Grove Church reached its one-hundredth birthday. This was celebrated by a dramatic pageant in which some current members of the congregation participated.

The Past Half Century

During the past fifty years, five Pastors each have contributed in varied ways to the continual spiritual, physical and governmental development of the Grove Church. Reverend Joseph Kuehne, Jr. was Pastor from 1952 until 1958. He was succeeded in 1959 by Reverend David Mitchell Thompson who had been born in the Manse while his father was Pastor here. Reverend Frank Henry Noll served from 1972 until his retirement in 1985. He was followed by Reverend Robert August Koenig who remained through 1988. Reverend Doctor Robert John Andrews, the most recent Pastor who was installed in 1989, retired in 2016 with his last service being on Christmas Day. Grove is actively seeking a new leader for our church, and the congregation is excited to embrace our next Pastor.

Under the guidance of these capable men and equally capable and devoted leaders from the congregation, much has changed in the life of the Grove Church while, at the same time, its firm foundation in Presbyterian faith and worship has persisted.

Most readily visible are the physical changes. In 1985 the Manse, renamed the Kirk House, was converted to church offices for the Pastor and a full-time Administrative Secretary, now Clare McCuen.

Of primary significance was the completion in 1996 of an extensive building program which included a two-story addition, clad in Shickshinny gray stone matching the original church building, to the east side of the old Chapel. This houses educational, meeting, nursery, choir and resource rooms and restrooms. Simultaneously the Chapel basement and entrances on its east and west ends were reconfigured and new parking areas added. The Sanctuary and its vestibule were extensively refurbished over several months in 1997-98, most of the work being done in the pulpit area and on the organ. The latter was disassembled and later reinstalled with a new repositioned console using many new pipes as well as some of the old ones.

A beautifully landscaped Memorial Garden in the grove to the west of the church was added in 2004. Other significant enhancements included a new baptismal font, carillon, sound system, handicapped ramp, ceiling fans, kitchen, and illumination of the steeple. Sandra Lewis became the inside custodian in 1984 and Albert Pehowic the outside custodian in 1989. Recently the Grove Church acquired the lot and two-story house just west of the campus; current plans are to use this eventually for the Youth Program.

The last half-century has also witnessed many changes in the worship, mission activity and community involvement of the Grove Church. Communion, observed only annually during the earliest years in the Log Church and then quarterly and on Maundy Thursday during most of Grove’s history, became a monthly feature in the 1990’s at the 11:00 AM services and a weekly one at the 8:30 AM services.

The Spire, a monthly newsletter, originated almost thirty years ago. The vigorous Church School with its devoted teachers has continued to inspire and educate Grove’s children and youth. It is currently led by Lynne A. Pabst, Director of Children’s Ministries, who also directs children’s choirs. The Senior Choir has been a central feature of worship at the Church since its origin. Its loyal members and long-serving Directors, most recently Brian Crane, have sustained the congregation’s love of sacred music. Penny Andrews directs the youth choirs. Anna Kinn, Dr. Frederick G. Brown, and now Joy Christian have been the principal organists during this period.

The Grove Church’s involvement in the community, while always present, has increased in recent years. Participation in the Community Food Bank, Good Samaritan Mission, Jubilee Kitchen, Gate House, Women’s Center, and Recreational Authority involves many at Grove. All Pastors have continued a visitation mission to those hospitalized or confined. Reverend Andrews has led annual mission trips to Honduras, and the Youth Group has undertaken similar missions to various communities in the United States. The central theme has been service to those in need.

As a result of several significant changes in church governance, members of the congregation have become increasingly involved. The Board of Deacons was founded in 1960, and in 1967, Elizabeth Drumm and Ethel Hinkel were the first women to be ordained as Elders. A unicameral system was adopted in 1973 when the Board of Trustees merged with the Session whose membership was then expanded to fifteen. Beth Christian, the present Clerk of Session, is the latest of a long line of leaders of the congregation.

Many organizations have contributed to fellowship and outreach activities. The Women of Grove, established in the 1960’s with its roots in the Senior and Junior Guilds of an earlier era, have enriched many areas of church and community life. The Joyliners Couples Club had a long history of sponsoring dinners, square dances, and other social activities. Various programs have drawn together the youth of the congregation for worship, mission trips, and assistance at church functions. A Boy Scout troop, meeting at and sponsored by the Grove Church, was inaugurated in 1989. Bible study sessions, lectures and seminars by the Pastor and others on theological and intellectual topics, a book club, picnics, family programs and church dinners have all added to the spiritual and fellowship life of the Church.

Asked to comment on the Grove Church today, the recently retired Reverend Andrews cited strong and deeply committed leadership by lay members, both in the Church and in the community. Equally important, he felt, was the congregation’s open-mindedness, willingness to listen to the views of others, and acceptance of faith as a continual journey. To these current strengths one might add the inspiration, spiritual leadership and wise guidance of Grove’s Pastors past and present; magnificent church buildings; a lovely Memorial Garden and our historic tree-shaded grounds.

While the Grove Church moves forward into the twenty-first century, its rich and ancient heritage continues to remind us that in this world God’s work must truly be our own.